chucksmi
Wholenote
Posts: 173
Formerly Known As: Offshore Angler elsewhere
Age: I saw Jerry Live
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Post by chucksmi on Dec 8, 2023 8:38:47 GMT -5
I'm doing some Cream in one band and using a vintage analog rig. I need a nice Wah that doesn't kill the sound when it's off and still keeps that nice sweep.
I'm not a fan of the Dunlop, have a great old Morely compact that sounds boss when it's on but sucks the chain dry when it's off. Currently have it on a Boggs Loooper so I can switch it in and out of my chain and blend in the dry signal with it to retain cut.
Anybody recommend a good wah that will give vintage sounds that I can stick directly in my chain? I'm a working player so real estate on the pedal board is a concern. I'm not into these 400 pedals on three levels crap. I look at pedals like cymbals, more than about 4 and you're just showing off, lol!
Chuck
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Post by rdr on Dec 8, 2023 10:25:56 GMT -5
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Post by reverendrob on Dec 8, 2023 11:27:50 GMT -5
If I needed the "vintage" thing and wouldn't use a switcher (because I do), I'd get a vintage Vox and mod the thing for bypass.
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pdf64
Wholenote
Posts: 556
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Post by pdf64 on Dec 8, 2023 11:56:32 GMT -5
My 90s crybaby was much improved by getting rid of the input buffer (thereby reverting to the vintage circuit) and fitting a true bypass switch.
So no tone suck when the wah is off, a nicer toe down wah tone (due to tone suck) when it’s engaged.
It’s not a complex mod, any tech should be able to do it for minimum bench fee.
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Post by Lesterstrat on Dec 9, 2023 1:24:00 GMT -5
Real McCoy Custom are the best wahs on the planet.
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Post by markfromhawaii on Dec 9, 2023 5:27:21 GMT -5
I’ve got a Fulltone Clyde, a Clyde Deluxe and an Xotic XW-1. They’re all great and true bypass. I like the XW-1 out of the lot because of its small footprint. There’ve been complaints of a slight delay when engaging it but I haven’t noticed it. It’s on the pricey side though.
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chucksmi
Wholenote
Posts: 173
Formerly Known As: Offshore Angler elsewhere
Age: I saw Jerry Live
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Post by chucksmi on Dec 9, 2023 7:18:33 GMT -5
My 90s crybaby was much improved by getting rid of the input buffer (thereby reverting to the vintage circuit) and fitting a true bypass switch. So no tone suck when the wah is off, a nicer toe down wah tone (due to tone suck) when it’s engaged. It’s not a complex mod, any tech should be able to do it for minimum bench fee. Yeah cool. I'm a pretty competent tech and I've done my own true bypass mods before. Main thing I want is the smaller footprint thing. The less I have to carry and deal with easier the gig. For the band I do the big shows in not a problem because my stuff gets set up for me, but this group is grab-and-go equipment. Think two guitars, a C30, hard case pedal board and a gig bag. Very minimal. |
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Post by cedarchoper58 on Dec 9, 2023 13:22:00 GMT -5
the old vox wha are lighter and have less pedal movement tha a 70's cry baby. I use a 1969 V846 wha same as Clapton- Hendrix and SRV. you can put a true bypass switch in oneor usse a looper. if you go true bypass keep the old switch since its a vintage pedal. My current band we play Whiter Room by Cream and Them Changees by Band of Gypsys and it sounds great
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Dec 9, 2023 13:33:50 GMT -5
I did the bypass mod on a crybaby for someone many years ago, and was pleasantly surprised with how much better it sounded. Not a job in everyone's skill set, but not too hard, either.
Many years ago when I wanted to use my Vox wah in a group for... one song? Two? I don't remember... I just unplugged the thing when not in use, putting my amp in standby. This is before the loopers and stuff were common items, I don't think any of these newer switching systems existed. I remember being okay with the bypass sound with one guitar but not the other, so as long as I didn't need the other guitar I was usually okay.
If I had to do it again today.... I'd probably mod a pedal because I'm not a wah enthusiast and I'd want the cheapest solution, and probably not appreciate/care too much about other features on the boutique ones that are already true bypass.
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Post by cedarchoper58 on Dec 9, 2023 15:52:12 GMT -5
I did the bypass mod on a crybaby for someone many years ago, and was pleasantly surprised with how much better it sounded. Not a job in everyone's skill set, but not too hard, either. Many years ago when I wanted to use my Vox wah in a group for... one song? Two? I don't remember... I just unplugged the thing when not in use, putting my amp in standby. This is before the loopers and stuff were common items, I don't think any of these newer switching systems existed. I remember being okay with the bypass sound with one guitar but not the other, so as long as I didn't need the other guitar I was usually okay. If I had to do it again today.... I'd probably mod a pedal because I'm not a wah enthusiast and I'd want the cheapest solution, and probably not appreciate/care too much about other features on the boutique ones that are already true bypass. I personaly prefer the non true bypass sound it pulls it down to just the perfect sound expecialy with my Marshall that is in my profile pic |
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Dec 9, 2023 16:03:42 GMT -5
I did the bypass mod on a crybaby for someone many years ago, and was pleasantly surprised with how much better it sounded. Not a job in everyone's skill set, but not too hard, either. Many years ago when I wanted to use my Vox wah in a group for... one song? Two? I don't remember... I just unplugged the thing when not in use, putting my amp in standby. This is before the loopers and stuff were common items, I don't think any of these newer switching systems existed. I remember being okay with the bypass sound with one guitar but not the other, so as long as I didn't need the other guitar I was usually okay. If I had to do it again today.... I'd probably mod a pedal because I'm not a wah enthusiast and I'd want the cheapest solution, and probably not appreciate/care too much about other features on the boutique ones that are already true bypass. I personaly prefer the non true bypass sound it pulls it down to just the perfect sound expecialy with my Marshall that is in my profile pic If I remember correctly, with my 335 it sort of gave it a mid hump, like some OD pedals might but without the increase in drive, but with a Strat or Tele (at least with the pickups I had) it was kinda unbearable and I couldn't get a good, even clean sound. This was many years ago, so I might have it backwards. |
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Post by reverendrob on Dec 9, 2023 19:42:05 GMT -5
I personaly prefer the non true bypass sound it pulls it down to just the perfect sound expecialy with my Marshall that is in my profile pic If I remember correctly, with my 335 it sort of gave it a mid hump, like some OD pedals might but without the increase in drive, but with a Strat or Tele (at least with the pickups I had) it was kinda unbearable and I couldn't get a good, even clean sound. This was many years ago, so I might have it backwards. With my Mustangs and Jaguars the vintage Vox in the vinyl bag just sort of sucked the gloss off the 6L6 Fenders I was using and made the Jazz Chorus I ran in stereo with the Fender (usually a BF Bassman) just sound..sterile when off. I ended up selling it to a Hendrix fanatic who had to have it as I just couldn't make it work gigging for me because of that. It's the second worst bypass sound I ever got out of a pedal - the first is still from the venerable 18v DOD Performer series (the BIG grey box with MASSIVE rubber switch) 595 "Phasor" - my absolute favorite phaser of all time, chewy, nasty, beautiful - but the bypass is death. I ended up basically just leaving it on when gigging and dialing it up in the mix when I wanted it on. These days it lives in my Boss ES-8 switcher.  That pedal TERRIFIED me gigging though as I used to do a LOT of LSD and drank like a fish, the 1/4" power input being black I was always concerned I'd plug it in stupidly to the Space Echo or one of the amps. I ended up painting the end bright yellow! These days since I'm not gigging I don't worry about it, but I'd do the same damned thing again - the original power supply LONG ago died, and I'm running an 18v supply with an adapter from 1/8" to 1/4" (TRS, but hey, it works!). |
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Post by Mike the marksman on Dec 11, 2023 7:51:01 GMT -5
I personaly prefer the non true bypass sound it pulls it down to just the perfect sound expecialy with my Marshall that is in my profile pic Eric Johnson uses a vintage crybaby first in his lead chain specifically for the "tone suck", as well as an excessive length of cable coiled up on his pedalboard for the capacitance. |
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Post by cedarchoper58 on Dec 11, 2023 10:47:08 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, with my 335 it sort of gave it a mid hump, like some OD pedals might but without the increase in drive, but with a Strat or Tele (at least with the pickups I had) it was kinda unbearable and I couldn't get a good, even clean sound. This was many years ago, so I might have it backwards. With my Mustangs and Jaguars the vintage Vox in the vinyl bag just sort of sucked the gloss off the 6L6 Fenders I was using and made the Jazz Chorus I ran in stereo with the Fender (usually a BF Bassman) just sound..sterile when off. I ended up selling it to a Hendrix fanatic who had to have it as I just couldn't make it work gigging for me because of that. It's the second worst bypass sound I ever got out of a pedal - the first is still from the venerable 18v DOD Performer series (the BIG grey box with MASSIVE rubber switch) 595 "Phasor" - my absolute favorite phaser of all time, chewy, nasty, beautiful - but the bypass is death. I ended up basically just leaving it on when gigging and dialing it up in the mix when I wanted it on. These days it lives in my Boss ES-8 switcher. That pedal TERRIFIED me gigging though as I used to do a LOT of LSD and drank like a fish, the 1/4" power input being black I was always concerned I'd plug it in stupidly to the Space Echo or one of the amps. I ended up painting the end bright yellow! These days since I'm not gigging I don't worry about it, but I'd do the same damned thing again - the original power supply LONG ago died, and I'm running an 18v supply with an adapter from 1/8" to 1/4" (TRS, but hey, it works!). vintage wha thru fender super reverbs the perfect amount of tone suck |
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pdf64
Wholenote
Posts: 556
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Post by pdf64 on Dec 11, 2023 11:30:29 GMT -5
With vintage wahs, it’s possible a DPDT bypass switch has been fitted, ie removing tone suck when bypassed.
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Post by markfromhawaii on Dec 11, 2023 11:30:44 GMT -5
Back in the 70s I used a Cry Baby with an MXR Distortion+ and Phase 90. Without the Cry Baby, the Distortion+ had a sharp treble bump. The wah bypassed somehow took that edge off.
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Post by reverendrob on Dec 11, 2023 17:30:25 GMT -5
With my Mustangs and Jaguars the vintage Vox in the vinyl bag just sort of sucked the gloss off the 6L6 Fenders I was using and made the Jazz Chorus I ran in stereo with the Fender (usually a BF Bassman) just sound..sterile when off. I ended up selling it to a Hendrix fanatic who had to have it as I just couldn't make it work gigging for me because of that. It's the second worst bypass sound I ever got out of a pedal - the first is still from the venerable 18v DOD Performer series (the BIG grey box with MASSIVE rubber switch) 595 "Phasor" - my absolute favorite phaser of all time, chewy, nasty, beautiful - but the bypass is death. I ended up basically just leaving it on when gigging and dialing it up in the mix when I wanted it on. These days it lives in my Boss ES-8 switcher. That pedal TERRIFIED me gigging though as I used to do a LOT of LSD and drank like a fish, the 1/4" power input being black I was always concerned I'd plug it in stupidly to the Space Echo or one of the amps. I ended up painting the end bright yellow! These days since I'm not gigging I don't worry about it, but I'd do the same damned thing again - the original power supply LONG ago died, and I'm running an 18v supply with an adapter from 1/8" to 1/4" (TRS, but hey, it works!). vintage wha thru fender super reverbs the perfect amount of tone suck I have zero desire to be SRV. Or Hendrix. Or any of the rest, sorry. |
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Post by ninworks on Dec 12, 2023 8:32:51 GMT -5
I have zero desire to be SRV. Or Hendrix. Or any of the rest, sorry. Yeah, THIS ^ Me neither. I haven't had an actual wah pedal since the 80's. They used to be kind of cool but it didn't take me long to get over them. These days I hear way too many guitarists step on one too often. AFAIC they are often a crutch when someone runs out of ideas for what to play and think it's cooler than what I think it really is. Players who just tapped their foot to the beat with a wah pedal under it annoy me to no end. If they're going to use one, use it to shape phrases and such. That wakka wakka wakka stuff really gets on my nerves. I had a Morely power wah. I Loved the volume pedal it had and used it a lot but the wah only came on when playing a cover song that used one. It had a very wide sweep range. Cry Baby's ran out of range at what I felt was about 1/3 of the travel they should have had. Not a fan. The Morely's photo optic cell stopped working so it went away as well. The coolest wah I ever had was the first one. It was a Schaller and it had 2 settings. Wah Wah and Bow Wow. 2 entirely different sounding filters. It stopped working in the 70's so I gave it to a friend of mine to see if he could fix it. I never saw it again and didn't really care. Now get offa my lawn. |
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Post by cedarchoper58 on Dec 12, 2023 11:26:34 GMT -5
vintage wha thru fender super reverbs the perfect amount of tone suck I have zero desire to be SRV. Or Hendrix. Or any of the rest, sorry. Never said that all i said is they got great Wha tones. oh and Trower to the great non true bypass great wha tones  |
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Post by reverendrob on Dec 12, 2023 12:42:47 GMT -5
I have zero desire to be SRV. Or Hendrix. Or any of the rest, sorry. Never said that all i said is they got great Wha tones. oh and Trower to the great non true bypass great wha tones " "The perfect amount of tone suck." You reference your heroes, which is great and all - but I don't particularly think ANY of the dudes you listed, who largely sound like clones of each other, had "great" tones I want to emulate. As I said, no desire to be any of the above. I don't want "tone suck." |
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Post by cedarchoper58 on Dec 12, 2023 23:15:44 GMT -5
Never said that all i said is they got great Wha tones. oh and Trower to the great non true bypass great wha tones " "The perfect amount of tone suck." You reference your heroes, which is great and all - but I don't particularly think ANY of the dudes you listed, who largely sound like clones of each other, had "great" tones I want to emulate. As I said, no desire to be any of the above. I don't want "tone suck." your in the minority but every one has a right to their opinon Just currious who has great wha tone in your opinion |
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Post by reverendrob on Dec 13, 2023 1:18:06 GMT -5
"The perfect amount of tone suck." You reference your heroes, which is great and all - but I don't particularly think ANY of the dudes you listed, who largely sound like clones of each other, had "great" tones I want to emulate. As I said, no desire to be any of the above. I don't want "tone suck." your in the minority but every one has a right to their opinon Just currious who has great wha tone in your opinion I don't think "great" and "wah" go in the same sentence generally. It's overused and tacky. The folks who actually use it tastefully use it as cawked (screw you autosubsituter censor) filter more than chucka chucka bore me to tears. Mick Ronson, Dick Wagner come to mind there but they're sidemen who played for the song, not the limelight. |
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